Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Your Mama Hears...

...from Platinum Triangle real estate mover and shaker Heidi Hearsay that 53-year old televised talent contest mega-mogul and soon-to-be first-time daddy Simon Cowell has furtively floated one of his several Beverly Hills (CA) residences as an off-market listing with a puffy but probably not unrealistic $20,000,000 price tag.*

Sassy, sharp-tongued, super-rich and famously moobish Mister Cowell—Ouch! Did we say that out loud?—acquired the Hal Leavitt-designed mid-century modern mini-mansion in October 2011 from AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips** for $15,500,000. A few quick clicks and clacks on Your Mama's beloved bejeweled abacus reveals Mister Cowell is angling for a hefty, multi-million dollar windfall—minus any improvement expenses and carrying costs, of course—should some deep pocketed buyer step up and cough up anywhere near the (alleged) asking price.

Listing details and other reports from the time of Mister Cowell's much-discussed-by-property-gossips addition to his residential real estate portfolio show the U-shaped multi-level mansion was built in 1966 and sits on a mostly flat, .65 acre parcel with head-spinning views that sweep across a large swathe of the mostly flat L.A. basin. In addition to Misters Cowell and Phillips, the home's Hollywood-y pedigree includes long-time lovers and life partners Ross Hunter and Jacques Mapes, the former an Oscar-nominated movie producer (Airport, Pillow Talk) and the latter an accomplished set director turned producer.

We're not sure what, if any, improvements and/or alterations Mister Cowell made to the double-gated property but listing details from the time of his purchase show the 7,265 square foot residential edifice had two bedroom suites plus two additional bedrooms and a total of six bathrooms. Other features noted in online marketing materials from the time of the sale include a digital screening room, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, a built-in outdoor barbecue, and a plunge-sized swimming pool set beneath a muscular concrete superstructure and a delicate satellite-style chandelier.

As far as Your Mama can tell from our thorough perusal of property records Mister Cowell owns at least two other houses in Beverly Hills. In March 2006 the globe-trotting Showbizzer paid Candy Spelling's (alleged) former man-pal Mark Nathanson $5.7 million for a 5,500+ square foot residence at the tail end of a short cul-de-sac in the the so-called Bird Streets area above the Sunset Strip. Two years earlier, in September 2004, Mister Cowell dropped $8,000,000 for a roomy, approximately 10,000 square foot mansion (above, left) in the so-called "Flats" of Beverly Hills that he spent years and God only knows how many millions to expand and transform in to a crisp and contemporary residence wrapped in a stripped down Colonial architectural skin. Mister Cowell also owns a substantial residence in London's hoity-toity Holland Park area (above, right).*If Mister Cowell's (alleged) asking price seems a mite high to any of the upper end real estate cynics out there, remember, puppies, that in December 2009, Oakley sunglasses tycoon Jim Jannard shelled out $19,900,000 for an iconic, crab-shaped mid-century modern located just a few doors down from Mister Cowell's plance that he razed to make way for a bigger and more newly fangled abode. And let's not forget that just a few months ago Burt Sugarman and Mary Hart sold their dated but well-maintained 11,000 square foot spread—also just a couple doors down from Mister Cowell's house—for $27,000,000 to a well-connected and (obviously) sick-rich Saudi sheikh. A twenty million clam hang tag for a whisper listing in a much-coveted and proven pricey locale doesn't sound so high now, does it, children?**Property records show Randy Phillips purchased the property in February 2004 for $4.63 million. A quick bit of rudimentary arithmetic reveals the sometimes temperamental and real estate gods favored the music industry mogul who—the lucky duck—well more than tripled his money in seven years.listing photos (Beverly Hills, Trousdale Estates): Sotheby's International Realtystreet photo (Beverly Hills, Flats): Wikimapiastreet photo (London, Holland Park): Google

19 comments:

TCD
said...

I was in the house during Randy's expansive and expensive renovation including moving and rebuilding an entire fireplace divider wall to another area of the living room, changing the roofline to accommodate the new chimney, etc. Every inch of the house was updated, some more than once. Place was spectacular when finished, especially the dining room, but a huge amount of money was spent.

...can you guess why I'm disappointed? While the interiors are requisitely faboo, the exterior (yes, Petra, especially that concrete trellis) is a disaster.

It looks like it was built by the same contractor that built my Catholic High School (with the left over materials), and has all the appeal of the roadside Holiday Inn in Hagerstown, MD that I stayed in when my sister got married in '76 (only the pool was nicer).

Egads and little fishes! Someone else in this world who knows of that horrible hamlet known as Hagerstown in the little state of Maryland! If I never hear that name again! Nothing but pawn shops, used car dealerships and strip clubs catering to the Duck Dynasty and Honey Boo Boo loving crowd. Oh the memories.......make it stop!!!!!!

@lil' gay boy & Anon 10:18PM Hagerstown! Always looks too far for a nice drive in the country and the snow doesn't melt until May, I think, plus what Anon said. On the way back from a lackluster drive & dinner in the country last weekend I cruised Yelp for adequate restaurants in The Sticks and we have a winner: http://ljsandthekatlounge.com/

Haven't been yet but looks interesting and everyone raves in shock about how could this place be in Hagerstown. It's on our list.

*I’m impressed, I must say. Really rarely do I encounter a blog that’s both educative and entertaining, and let me tell you, you have hit the nail on the head. Your idea is outstanding; the issue is something that not enough people are speaking intelligently about. I am very happy that I stumbled across this in my search for something relating to this. Artis